I always recommend my clients fit their workouts into their lifestyle and daily schedule because this way it’s more likely to happen.
Most Americans work a full time (or more) job, and have other responsibilities such as kids, pets, volunteering, school, and a social life, so to ask someone to take time away from one of those things to workout, is unlikely. Not to mention, if you stress yourself out trying to fit too many things into your schedule, you are more likely to have failure across the board or burn out.
You need to set yourself up for success in ALL facets of life, and that includes your workout schedule.
Look at all of the workouts you want to get in during a week. Let’s say for example they include.. chest and back strength training, legs and abs strength training, arms and shoulders strength training, three high intensity interval training cardio workouts and one yoga class. I recommend determining which are the most important so those are absolutely not missed. So first, list them in order of value based on your goals. Here’s the example..
legs/ abs strength training
chest/ back strength training
high intensity interval training
high intensity interval training
arms/ shoulders strength training
yoga
high intensity interval training
Then look at your schedule for the week and see what you can fit where.
For example..Monday is pretty open after work so legs and abs ST + a quick high intensity interval training session
Tuesday is the day that you like to take yoga on lunch so pencil that in
Wednesday is a hectic day where it’s unlikely anything will fit so take that off
Thursday is open after work, so chest/ back ST + high intensity interval training
Friday there’s a happy hour so something has to happen Friday early before work, so throw another high intensity interval training in there
And Saturday will either be time for another gym session or there’s another yoga class, so if yoga didn’t happen Tuesday it can happen Saturday. If yoga did happen on Tuesday, do arms and shoulders.
One other thing to consider is that things are going to come up. So if you have a free morning or lunch break early in the week, go ahead and squeeze something in so that if something comes up, you are ahead of the game, and if not, you can relax and bask in your glory of getting in all of your scheduled workouts!
Lastly, be honest with yourself. Do not plan on making at 5:30am spin class when you are going out for drinks the night before. And also be honest with yourself in what it is you truly enjoy. If you love cardio more than lifting, get in a 20 minute leg workout, then reward yourself with a jog outside after. It is a good idea to maintain a baseline of a few strength training workouts each week so your muscles stay strong, you work on balance and stability so you can be healthy and feel good. And if you would rather lift than do cardio, you still need to breathe heavily a few times a week as well because it’s good for your heart and lungs, so maybe go for a couple of brisk two mile walks in the evenings.
Having a baseline is important, then fill in the blanks with the things that make your heart the happiest.
Ultimately though, if you can be flexible enough to move stuff around you will be more likely to get in more workouts. Things come up, life changes, so you need to be able to roll with the punches and do what you can with your time.
If you need help setting up your workout schedule, sign up for online personal training! Go to KyraWilliamsFitness.com/signup to join for just $7!
Your Coach,
Kyra